Don’t Be a Kept Man

>“This old physician has his expertise in pediatrics, nothing remotely similar to this.
Min Gong-zi’s illness is strange, something I have never heard of before.
Perhaps if we all study a bit, there will be a good prognosis soon.”

Physician Shen thought to himself, I’m not even someone paid under the Min family, they were all those who have lived for more than half a hundred years now, who would be willing to stay here in this late night, and he snorted with a fake smile plastered on his face and didn’t say another word.

Evidently, he was not the only one who thought like this, as there were quite a few who were much more elderly that could not stand it and found a tree to lean against.
Some of them had started to nap, their snoring creating a rhythm.

Min Shang Shan closed his eyes and didn’t say a word, but his chest was heaving irregularly, about to explode in anger.
It was at this time that an old bald man walked out from the crowd and cautiously asked, 

“Perhaps this is not natural but man made?”

The crowd all looked at him and even Min Shang Shan opened his eyes.

Xiao Feng Wu raised his eyebrow slightly, hmm, what does he mean? Did he think that this was a curse cast upon Min Si Xing by him!

With someone leading the group, numerous voices joined along to agree,

“Perhaps this is due to a curse, something related to witchcraft.”

Qin Ming Yue’s face was thunderous, staring right at that old baldy and saying, 

“A group of charlatans! For you to be unable to find any good results, you will all push around the reason as witchcraft.
What a joke!” 

The old man pushed up his sleeves, saying in an all knowing way, 

“Xiao Gong-zi had cursed Min Gong-zi in Sheng De Lou to have a body full of blisters and rashes.
Quite a few people have heard it.
How could it be so coincidental that the moment he returns, the illness falls upon him.”

Min Shang Shan was at the point where he was willing to do anything to find a reason and a cure.
Hearing all this, his eyes became laser focused to the point that it could flay flesh.
Xiao Feng Wu held Qin Ming Yue back and then walked in front of the group of physicians and looked them up and down, 

“Out of you all, who thinks that this is a curse and not an actual illness?”

That old man chuckled mockingly and walked forward a step, 

“Senior Physician Li Si Mou.” 

Xiao Feng Wu looked behind him, 

“Anyone else?”

The crowd began to shift with movement and a majority of them stepped out in scatters.

“Senior Physician Kang Ji Ming.” 

“Senior Physician Gong Sun Qi.”

“Senior Physician…”

“Senior Physician…”

It was all a group of elderly men who won’t die, leaving only Physician Shen standing by himself on the side.
Facing up against everyone’s eyes, he ho-ho’ed and waved his hands,

“A world that could be filled with thousands, there is an unending curiosity to be explored.
This old physician’s knowledge is very low, and I do not dare to pass any judgement.”

Xiao Feng Wu smiled and gave a respectful bow and then looked at the group of physicians who stepped out.
He placed his hands behind him and walked back and forth in front of them, 

“This young man is not that good, living life as he pleases, taking in the pleasures of gambling and sexual pleasure, knowing only some things.
Although gambling is not good, as you live on this earth, you have to find some pleasures in things.
Why not think about this, how about we place a bet?”

The old man opened his eyes wide, 

“You foul mouthed boy, what are you betting for?”

Xiao Feng Wu pointed towards the inner room, 

“If I could cure Min Si Xing, proving that it is not of witchcraft but of a rare illness?”

The old man flipped his sleeves and scolded him, 

“Foul mouthed youth, don’t think so highly of yourself.
There is no hero on this earth, trying to find fame for your own name.
Did you really think that just because the previous Emperor bestowed your family the name of the number one acupuncturists that you are that great?”

Xiao Feng Wu chuckled lightly, 

“Bestowed by the previous Emperor, of course we are that great.
Or are you saying that you think nothing of the previous Emperor?”

The old bald man shook his mustache, 

“This old physician will not battle you with words.
Fine, what if I make a bet with you.
If you cannot cure Min Gong-zi, then in front of all of Yan Cheng, you must acknowledge that your Xiao family are liars and deceivers who don’t deserve of such praise and then confess to your crimes to the district magistrate’s court.
Using your life to pay for the other.
How is that?”

Xiao Feng Wu fakely smiled, 

“Alright, and if I can cure Min Gong-zi, what about that?”

The old bald man asked back, 

“What do you want?”

Xiao Feng Wu looked at the group of people behind him, 

“With the morning light as the time limit, if I can make Min Si Xing wake up and cure him, then all you old men who have lived past your time, when you see me on the streets, must give me the bow of a junior to his senior, respectfully greeting me as your ancestor.
How about that?”

The youngest of them all in this crowd was at least 40 or so.
To give someone who was not even a proper physician like Xiao Feng Wu a bow like a junior would to his senior was a great disgrace.
But since they were already in such a hard position to begin with, they all looked at each other, unable to decide and whispering quietly.

“There is no difference between Min Gong-zi from a living dead person.
Not even medicine could be force fed.
This old physician cannot believe that he would have any kind of way to do anything.
Why not gamble it all?”

“His pulse is very weak, and there is no possible way to do anything.
Not even saints could save him now.”

Xiao Feng Wu blew on the dust on his fingers, 

“I’ll count down from ten.
Give me your response then.
If, at that time, you delay it any further, ruining any chance of Min Si Xing living, then that won’t be on me.”

“Bet accepted–“

The one who spoke those words was Min Shang Shan.
His eyes swept over the crowd with a great pressure, and the people could only nod their heads in agreement, 

“Yes, yes, we will take the bet.”

Only then did Xiao Feng Wu lift up his eyes, blinking a few times, thinking to himself, what a bunch of sheep.
He nodded his head and finally agreed to walk into the inner room to save Min Si Xing.
But he was blocked by Min Shang Shan whose words came out one by one, gritting them out from the cavities of his teeth.

“If he dies, the two of you will be buried with him.”

Xiao Feng Wu looked back, seeing Qin Ming Yue standing underneath a tree in the courtyard and silently looking back at himself.
With the faded moonlight shining across the cobblestones, shimmering and glimmering, his pair of phoenix eyes never looked more beautiful as it was in its calmest state, and quieter than the dark of the night.

Xiao Feng Wu retracted his gaze and then walked right into the room, 

“Bring a tub of water for me to wash my hands and prepare some acupuncture needles, pen, ink and paper, and a basin of burning coal.”

 

Notes:

*1  Some of you who may be into historical cdramas may have seen a lot of “paper windows” where characters might poke a finger through the window and look into to find out secrets, but that’s kind of like a trope(?). 

They did use paper windows back then, but it’s a lot more complicated than just “paper”.
They have a main ingredient that’s like paper (made from bark of course), but they add other ingredients on top to strengthen the structure, and they also add a layer of oil (kind of like the “paper” umbrellas you may have heard of) to block water and these kinds of windows are said to be actually pretty hard to break through.

 

Wealthier families are said to use a thinner material to make their windows as it lets light shine through much easier (and they also have money to hire guards so less security issues – although most cdramas will say no to that lol) and poor families usually use cloth instead – kind of like how the apothecary Xiao Feng Wu works at uses a cloth as a divider/door).

*2 Lotus pattern-